Genetic control of susceptibility of mice to infection with E. histolytica

Genetic susceptibility to Entamoeba histolytica infection in nine inbred strains and one outbred strain of mice was studied. The number of E. histolytica trophozoites in the ceca of the mice was examined 5 days after intracecal inoculation of axenic amoebae. C3H/HeCr, BALB/c, NZB/BIN, B10.A, DBA/2 and C57BL/6 were susceptible whereas A/J, CE, DBA/1 and CD-1 mouse strains were relatively resistant. Examination of F1 hybrid animals derived from susceptible B10.A and resistant A/J strains of mice showed that susceptibility was dominant over resistance. Segregation analysis of backcross and F2 progeny derived from the same progenitor strains is compatible with the hypothesis that susceptibility to E. histolytica infection in mice is controlled by a single, dominant gene which has been designated Enh. No association was found between the H-2 haplotype and the trait of susceptibility to amoebiasis, indicating that the major histocompatibility complex does not play a major role in regulating the early phase of the response to infection with E. histolytica.